God Help the Outcasts
by smokymace
Summary: The Avengers are all teenagers. All of them are so, so confused and alone. Tony has been left at home whilst he parents are on vacation; Clint has run from the circus; Natasha's working for the Russians; Thor's recently been been exiled by his family; Steve lied about his age on the recruitment form; and Bruce was an advisor on the Gamma Radiation project. Avengerkink prompt.
1. Chapter 1

**I: "Appear"**

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"You've got to be kidding me," Anthony Stark groaned, leaning on the elevator walls. "You're not kidding, are you, JARVIS?"

JARVIS, Tony's AI (he had built it himself and everything) spoke almost sympathetically (you know, if he could feel emotions and stuff). "_Unfortunately not, sir_," he replied. "_Mr. and Mrs. Stark have left for the summer to go on a holiday in the Bahamas. As such, they will not be back until after you have returned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology._"

"And Pep?"

"_Miss Potts has left a message for you_," JARVIS said. "_It would appear she has a new internship outside of California. I have sent a message to a local florist, requesting a bouquet of flowers to be sent to her directly, congratulating her on your behalf._"

"Thanks, JARV; you're a life-saver." He made an annoyed noise. "Now what am I supposed to do for the summer? Are Rhodey and Happy—?"

"_Mr. Rhodes has joined the air force and is undergoing extensive training and Mr. Hogan is out-of-state with his family_," JARVIS continued.

The elevator doors opened and Tony found himself in an empty building. His father's mansion. He entered the living room and flopped on the couch. Usually his father wouldn't allow JARVIS be around much (Tony was limited to speak to him only in private [basically just his room] because Howard didn't believe that he could keep all the 'Stark Secrets' [did they even _have_ any secrets? Well, Tony wouldn't know about them, Howard obviously didn't trust him enough to let him know about them] and he, was, as Tony figured out, jealous that his son had created a working AI before he did) but there was no one to stop him now.

"So . . . you got any recommendations?"

"_I imagine you will just spend your summer in your workshop," JARVIS said. "Though I would recommend you actually go__** outside**_."

"Of course you would. I don't _like _outside, JARVIS. Outside is scary. Outside is bad. Too much sunlight. Not good for my complexion. Plus there's nothing of interest for me out there, on earth, at all." He waved a hand. "I don't have any ideas."

"_I believe you had started an idea focusing on this 'Iron Man' suit that you talk about so often_," JARVIS offered. "_Run by the power of your Arc Reactor, perhaps_?"

The Arc Reactor. That was a funny story (that _really _wasn't funny) involving a terrorist group who had actually kidnapped him _from school_. They'd originally wanted to blackmail his dad into giving them money and weapons but as soon as they'd realised that he was just as smart (or smarter) as him, they decided it would be far easier to torture him because A) they already _had _him B) he was younger and could make weapons for _longer _and C) he probably had a low-pain threshold (which would be right). At some point (all the days had melted into each other and he couldn't remember all of what happened and he didn't know if he _wanted_ to) something had exploded and people had dug around in his chest and he ended up with a fucking magnet in his heart, powered by a car battery. Once he got home (because his best friend Rhodey somehow found him), he fixed it up and now he's got himself a magnet powered by Arc Reactor technology (and his dad is super-jealous but, then again, he did help Tony synthesise a new material so that the Arc Reactor didn't poison his bloodstream with palladium [long story] so maybe he should give the old man some props).

And the "Iron Man" suit. That was a whole _new _level. It was a whole suit of armour (run on the Arc Reactor technology also) that could _fly_ and had weapons attached to it and was just awesome. Tony would never admit it out loud, but he had always, sort of, wanted to be a superhero. And Iron Man was his chance to do that. As soon as everything was sorted properly and he was certain his father wasn't going to take it from him and steal the tech (which wouldn't be the first time but that was a press conference for another day) he was going to come out as, you know, a superhero.

"_Sir?_"

"Hm?" Tony lifted his eyes, which had drifted to the blank TV screen whilst he thought, to the roof (despite JARVIS not having a physical presence, Tony always looked towards the roof or the nearest computer when he paid attention to him). "What was that, JARVIS?"

"_I suggested that you go for a walk, sir_," JARVIS said. "_If you are going to spend the rest your break in the workshop, you may as well get some fresh air now. Vitamin D so that you don't get rickets._"

"Right. Okay. Whatever. Thanks, JARVIS. I'll be back soon. Look after the house." Because, on most occasions, if JARVIS wanted him to do something, Tony usually ended up doing it sooner or later.

"_**Always, sir.**_"

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**a/n: this idea came from a prompt on avengerkink. if I didn't make it clear then all of the Avengers are about teenage-age. think about 15-18 somewhere. I imagine Tony about 17/18.**

**there'll probably be lots of possible ships and tension. if you have a preferred ship, just call it out and I'll probably put it in (but my soul lies with Stony or Captain Hammer [ehehe, Thor and Steve are adorbs], Angry Birds/Hulkeye [ehehehe], etcetera. but whatever floats your boat [/ship] just call it and I'll put something (it might not be shippy, just friendship) in.**

**I have lots of the chapters done so far, but all of them are pretty short (think: shorter than this ehehehe). the plot is sort of wavering and you might not see any action for . . . well, I'll let you know when I write it. )**

_smoky_**MACE  
**

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	2. Chapter 2

**II: Fight**

**x-**_x-x_**-x**

Tony stumbled upon the homeless kid completely by accident. Wearing a hoodie, sunglasses and sneaking out of the house rather than taking the front exit helped him stay hidden from the paparazzi (who probably didn't even know he was back yet or thought he was out on vacation with his parents).

The guy had happened to be walking in the opposite direction of Tony and they'd bumped into each other.

"Watch it," Tony muttered.

"I wouldn't need to if _you _had been," he had growled back.

Tony had turned around. He was never one to back down from a fight (and he was so _bored_ and he'd had _training _so he knew how to dodge and hit and get away if it got really bad) and this guy was _radiating _agitation and aggression.

"What was that?" he asked, a hint of a smirk playing on his face. "Are you starting something?"

The guy obviously took that as a starter and, hey, _could _have started a fight out of it. But then a thought must have crossed his head because he just sort of, _deflated_, and mumbled an apology and turned away.

"What's your problem?" Tony put a hand on his shoulder and turned him back.

"Get off," he muttered, shaking his shoulder to get rid of Tony's hand.

"No." Tony was nothing if not stubborn. "Who _are _you?"

"No one."

And Tony heard the guy's fucking _stomach _rumble and he hated his conscious there and then but finally muttered out a, "You're hungry."

"'S nothing new."

And the guy was _his _age and he was _used _to being hungry and Tony Stark muttered something under his breath. "Fine. C'mon kid." He grabbed his arm and dragged him to the nearest Burger King.

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**a/n: guess who? )**

**(thank you for reviews.)**

****_smoky_**MACE**

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	3. Chapter 3

**III: Remembered**

**x-**_x-x_**-x**

"What's your name? You've got one, right?"

The guy had wolfed down at least three burgers and two packets of fries and was going for a milkshake next. "Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. I'm Clint. Clint Barton." He offered his hand, slightly hesitantly (as if he hadn't done anything like that before and was unsure of its reception and why did that make Tony feel so guilty?), and Tony shook it. "You?"

He pulled off his sunglasses (because the restaurant was basically empty except for them so it didn't matter much anyway). "I'm Tony Stark."

The guy frowned, as if he remembered the name, but not quite. "You're . . . famous?" he guessed.

Tony laughed. "Yeah," he said. "That's one way of putting it. My _dad's _famous. He makes weapons and technology." He looked down. "You're not really up-to-date with this kind of thing, are you?"

"I, uh, ran away, I guess, I've not been good with keeping up with the local news," the guy admitted. "If you're famous, does that mean I don't have to feel bad that you just bought me, like, three burgers?"

Tony laughed again. "I like you," he decided. "Nah, relax, I don't eat much anyway." He waved a hand. "Ran away? Like, from home?"

"Not . . . not exactly 'home'," Clint murmured. "More like the fucking circus."

"You're kidding."

Clint gave him a bland look. "You wanna see the posters?"

"You _ran away from the circus_." Tony leaned back and gave a low whistle. "I'm impressed. I don't know anyone else who ran away from the circus." He paused a second, processing the information. "Okay. Yeah. I'll buy it. It's not the most insane story I've ever heard. I believe you."

"What?" Clint frowned.

"I'm the billionaire's son," Tony said, giving him a look. "_Everyone _wants a piece of the billionaire's son."

"You don't have any friends," Clint realised.

"I have Pepper. And Rhodey. And Happy. But they . . . Pepper's probably going to go away and Rhodey's busy and Happy . . . Yeah, you're right, I guess. That's one way of putting it."

"Neither do I." Clint offered his hand again. "I'll be your friend, Tony Stark. And if you ever _don't _believe me, I'll show you the poster."

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**a/n: i have about another 42 chapters of this kind of nonsense so expect frequent updates (maybe, sometimes, if i want [i do what i want] if i can. special thanks to** 'Angel-Of-Massacre'**, **'MarianasTrenchFan' **and **' . . .Me'**.**

**I kind of feel like I let you down with this, **'Angel-Of-Massacre' **because no Loki or Thor yet. D: But thank you for saying that I keep Tony in character because I always worry about keeping them IC. xD ehehe.**

_smoky_**MACE**

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	4. Chapter 4

**IV: Sometimes**

**x**_-x-x-**x**_

About half-way through their conversation, Tony realised what Clint _had run away _and had nowhere to live.

He mentioned it in conversation and Clint got really awkward and he blushed and he was obviously embarrassed but Tony was rich and he had no one else to talk to (except for JARVIS and spending all summer only talking to an AI might suck, no matter how much Tony loved his AI) so he offered Clint a place.

He looked genuinely shocked (and Tony counted that as a Plus One on the social interaction scale, though he could be wrong, because sometimes he _thought _he was doing the right thing and Pepper or Rhodey had called him out on it and it _wasn't his fault_). "Seriously? You're . . . that's insane. You've known me for, like, an hour."

"So?"

And Clint looked like he was about to hug him, except that would be totally awkward for both of them, so he didn't and just offered Tony the fries that, _technically_, Tony had bought, but it was a nice peace offering so Tony took one to appease him.

"You're my new favourite person," Clint said. "When I start making money, I promise you I'll pay you back and, you know, only buy Stark Tech." He gave a bright grin that suddenly made the whole 'selfless-I'll-help-you-and-expect-nothing-in-return' thing so much better for Tony.

"How do you plan to start making money?"

"The army. It's almost my birthday and when I'm eighteen I can join up."

"You're only seventeen?"

"Yeah. Aren't you?"

"Yeah but . . . never mind." He shook his head. "You want to join the army? That sounds . . . dangerous. I have a friend in the army. Well, the air force." He wasn't going to tell anyone, but the fact that Rhodey was in _actual danger all of the time _(okay, he was only training right now, but he was an expert pilot and he had lots of potential and Tony totally _wasn't _checking all of the emails that his superiors were sending to each other about him to see what they planned on doing with him) frightened him a _whole lot_. His affection towards Rhodey (Pepper often called him 'cute' because he hugged Rhodey more than anyone else) was mostly due to the fact that _he could die at any time and Tony wouldn't be able to help_. And hey, that was true for Pepper and Happy too but they were safe here. Safer with him.

And here was his newest friend. An actual friend. One who wanted to hang out with him and not just stop him from drinking himself to death and leading himself to an early grave (but he probably would). And he was going to fight too.

"You okay?"

Tony blinked a few times, eyes focusing back on the sandy-haired boy in front of him. "Yeah. I just . . . I guess everyone's fighting right now, huh?"

"You said your dad makes weapons, right? There's a whole bunch of fighting and I want to help," Clint murmured. "Well, mostly I want a job so I don't starve to death but hey, I'll be helping too, right? And that's . . . that's good, I guess."

"You wanna fight?"

"Not really. But I didn't go to school. I've got no qualifications and no one in their right mind would hire me." Clint leaned back. "I don't have a social security number, I _don't know _what a social security number does and I think the high-up people probably think I'm dead. I think joining the army would be best. No one cares, so long as you do your job."

"I'd hire you," Tony said, and all the humour was gone and it was serious and Tony tried to convey that.

"That's right. No one in their _right _mind," Clint said, and his tone was joking but Tony could tell that he got the message and that he was grateful for it. "You're a good guy, Stark. You pick people off the streets often?"

"Only when they give me the wounded puppy dog eyes and make their stomachs growl at me."

Clint laughed.

"So, the circus, huh? What did you do?"

"Dude, I am the _best _archer in the world!"

"That right? You know there's an archery range on the other side of town?"

"Doesn't that, like, _cost_?"

"Sure it does. You know, unless you have Howard Stark's credit card."

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**a/n: I got bored so double update. yay? xD**

**um, there'll be lots of Tony and Clint bromance (probably no actually romance though eep). Tony and Clint and Natasha and Steve are my brOTPs. Plus Steve/everyone.**

**I'm a very big Chris Evans/every single character that Chris Evans has ever played ever fan.**

_smoky_**MACE**

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	5. Chapter 5

**V: Picture**

**x-**_x-x**-x**_

Steven Rogers blinked past the thin film that had formed over his eyes. When it faded, he took in his surroundings.

Where the hell was he?

He remembered the war. Bucky falling . . . Peggy kissing him. Red Skull . . . he _exploded_. And what happened to the Cube. The plane . . . it was crashing . . . and Steve let it. Straight into the water.

The radio was playing. He could hear it. His senses were heightened and he could _hear _it. His memory was better and the words, they painted a picture. One he remembered. The game he went to with Bucky. The last time he went before Bucky started cancelling because he wanted to have a dame, and Steve might as well come with him so that he could get one too.

A woman with brown hair (so much like Peggy, all too much) entered the room. "Good morning, Captain Rogers. Or should I say afternoon?" She glanced at her watch.

Steve had been part of the USO tours (not his greatest moment, sure, but he was still just a kid so . . .) and he remembered how the actors had been. All reading their lines, no emotion. Steve tried to get into the part (and some of the times, he _enjoyed _it, but mostly he felt shame). That was exactly what this woman was doing.

She wasn't talking to him. She was reading lines.

"Where am I?"

"You're in a recovery room in New York City."

"Where am I really?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

He just gave her an un-amused look. "Where am I? Who are you?" And he got off of the bed he'd been lying in and backed up against a wall. He could _hear _the people, the heavy stomping off feet from behind it. What was he wearing? "The game." He pointed to the radio. "It's from May, 1941. I know 'cause _I was there_." And he was so confused and afraid and the world started spinning lightly.

She looked afraid too. She took a good step back from him.

A man, young, older than Steve, rushed into the room almost immediately. Or, maybe, he'd just walked in and Steve was having trouble getting his head around . . . _everything_. "Agent Carter, you are dismissed," he ordered, and the woman disappeared. "I am . . . sorry about the ruse, Captain. I told them not to, but Fury wanted to ease you into this."

"Ease me into what?"

"Captain, you've been asleep for a long time."

"How long?"

"Seventy years."

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**a/n: I personally don't even mind flames/criticism. Just feedback is good. But if you don't want to review, that's fine too. Just so long as _someone _out there enjoys reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

_smoky_**MACE**

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